Sodiq Ojuroungbe
The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom in partnership with Wellbeing Foundation Africa have embarked on training no fewer than 25 obstetricians and gynaecologists in Abuja as part of an effort to combat high maternal and child mortality in Nigeria.
The training, which is the third batch of the Advanced Obstetrics and Surgical Skills for the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria faculty examiners was meant to enhance the capacity of NPMCN faculty examiners in training residents in obstetrics and gynecology.
The five-day training programme, held at the National Postgraduate Medical College in Utako, Abuja, involves over 25 participants, trained by a team comprising three experienced facilitators from The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ Nigeria Liaison Group, five former trainees from NPMCN, and one expert from LSTM UK.
The Country Director for LSTM Nigeria, Dr Hauwa Mohammed, said the training aims to address the pressing challenges of maternal and neonatal mortality rates in the country.
Quoting data from the United Nations, Mohammed lamented that Nigeria accounts for 10 per cent of worldwide deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth.
She said approximately 40 million Nigerian women of childbearing age (15 to 49 years old) are impacted.
Mohammed further said the highlights of the project’s aims to improve maternal and child healthcare outcomes throughout Nigeria, addressing Nigeria’s high maternal and neonatal mortality rates and seeking to reduce these numbers through targeted interventions and comprehensive healthcare strategies.
The country director noted that by advancing the AOSS Competency-Based Curriculum for Resident Doctors in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, the university in partnership with WBFA wants to ensure the provision of high-quality care for mothers and newborns in Nigeria.
Mohammed explained that the Advanced Obstetrics and Surgical Skills course focuses on advanced techniques and best practices for managing obstetric and neonatal emergencies, thereby, directly contributing to enhanced healthcare delivery.
“Since its inception, the initiative has already trained 58 obstetrics and gynaecology doctors through two previous batches held in Lagos, Nigeria. This ongoing training program is specifically tailored to enhance the capacity of NPMCN faculty examiners in effectively training residents in OBGYN, thereby aiming to uplift healthcare standards and reduce maternal and neonatal mortality rates in Nigeria,” she noted.
PUNCH Healthwise had earlier reported that LSTM and WBFA announced a new partnership to strengthen obstetric training for resident doctors in Nigeria.
The collaboration, funded by the Global Health Workforce Programme, seeks to enhance emergency obstetric and newborn care and establish two centres of excellence for advanced training in Nigeria.
The LSTM’s Emergency Obstetrics and Quality of Care Unit, which has extensive experience in delivering maternal and newborn health capacity-strengthening interventions across sub-Saharan Africa, will lead the project.
According to the World Health Organisation, Nigeria recorded over 800 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births and a neonatal mortality rate of 33 per 1,000 live births in 2019.
Also, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammed Pate, recently said 57,000 mothers died from pregnancy-related complications during childbirth in 2023 alone.
He noted that one of the leading causes of maternal mortality is postpartum haemorrhage, which accounts for a significant proportion of maternal deaths worldwide.
Pate added that the mortality rate among newborns, often attributed to birth asphyxia and complications related to premature births is equally alarming.
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